Up

HERRIMAN, Utah — Cute is the Walt Disney Company’s stock in trade, but there is nothing soft and cuddly about how it protects its intellectual property.

The sherbet-colored structure sits at the intersection of Meadowside Drive and Herriman Rose Boulevard here, but you don’t need directions to find it. Just look for the swarm of helium-filled balloons that the developer tied to the chimney of a house that has a gabled roof, scalloped siding and a garden hose neatly coiled next to the porch — all details taken from “Up,” the 2009 hit about an old man and his flying abode.

The house is a product of the strange obsession of one man — in this case, the son of a former governor — his connections, the film’s powerful director and a company that is trying to evaluate with more care the hundreds of requests it receives a month from people wanting to use its characters and imagery.